Rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro front design have pointed in different directions for months. Some leaks claimed under-display Face ID. Others suggested a top-left hole-punch camera. A few reports even argued that the Dynamic Island would shrink or disappear. A new leak now brings these threads together and clears up where the confusion started.
Hole-Punch Story Went Wrong
Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details and images that challenge the hole-punch claim. According to the leaker, reports about a left-side camera are “complete misinformation.” They explained that early coverage in Chinese and Korean media mentioned an infrared component moving under the display on the left side. Later, an English-language report mistranslated that detail and described it as a visible front camera cutout.
Instant Digital put it bluntly, saying an English outlet “thought it was a camera” when it was not. That error spread fast, helped by wider English coverage, and reshaped the story into something more dramatic than the original claim.
Images shared alongside the leak show a Face ID assembly made up of three parts on one flex cable. The infrared flood illuminator sits on the left. The dot projector and infrared camera remain centered. This layout matters.
The flood illuminator is small and simpler than the other components. That makes it the best candidate to sit under the display, likely in the top-left area. The other two parts still need a clear path, which points to a smaller, centered Dynamic Island rather than a side hole-punch.
Dynamic Island Likely Stays, Just Smaller
Last month, a report claimed Apple would move the front camera to the top-left corner and remove the pill-shaped cutout. This new leak pushes back on that idea. It frames the change as internal, not a bold external redesign.
In short, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max do not appear to be getting a left-side punch-hole camera. The visible change looks limited to a reduced Dynamic Island, made possible by shifting the infrared flood illuminator under the display.
More Leakers Back the Same
The leak gained support from ShrimpApplePro on X, who wrote, “Always western media messed up the info.” They echoed the view that a mistranslation turned a small sensor move into a major design rumor.
Another post repeated the core point clearly. The claim of a left-side camera is “a complete misconception.” What sources actually described was an under-display infrared sensor, not a new camera cutout.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro lineup in September. If no new leaks contradict this one, the front display story now looks far less dramatic and far more settled.
